At Community Catalyst Collective, the Program Director faces a tough challenge. Despite big investments in their social innovation accelerator, there’s growing worry that tools like VR, blockchain, and AI won’t lead to real, lasting impact.

That concern makes sense. Many in the social sector feel pressure to adopt new tech but face too many options and limited experience. Even in well-resourced companies, 85% of digital projects still fail.

The Director also sees how high-effort initiatives that miss the mark can drain morale and slow progress for the grantees the accelerator is meant to help.

To support leaders like this, I share five tips from my work as an innovation advisor to help design social innovation accelerators that succeed from the start.

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1) Connect Problem and Tech Experts in Your Social Innovation Accelerator

Risk: Frontline community leaders may not have the time or skills to build tech solutions. These frontline experts know the problems inside and out, but they are often left out of the design process for new technology.

Solution: accelerators can bring problem experts and technology specialists together.

This partnership is a good idea for a few reasons.

First, it's hard to build new tech skills and create effective solutions at the same time in a short accelerator program. By working with skilled partners on a real project, participants gain hands on experience and build momentum to keep investing in tech skills after the program ends.

Second, including people who deal with community issues every day is key to responsible innovation. Tech experts know how to build tools, but they might not understand the social complexities and could cause more harm than good. Partnerships ensure community expertise is included without overwhelming frontline organizations.

Finally, working with different tech experts helps brainstorm a wider range of solutions. This can include:

Adopting or tweaking existing tools.

Improving workflows by using or creating new services.

Creating content or communities, like guides or membership groups.

This way, participants can make an impact faster, even if they don't build a brand new tool from scratch.

Consider using these three strategies.

Find and contact potential tech partners who have a history of working on social impact projects with nonprofits.

Prioritize social impact partners who have experience creating technology or working with tech partners.

Host networking events like a hackathon to help problem experts and tech specialists connect and start working together.

2) Use Hackathons to Pick Participants
of Your Social Innovation Accelerator

Risk: participants have great ideas but can't follow through with limited resources. Applications and interviews don't always show who can actually get things done.

Solution: It's better to test for the ability to create meaningful impact with scarce resources. This fits the "agile" method of testing and learning before making a big investment. Hackathons and similar events are great for creating solutions while encouraging teamwork.

There are a few major benefits.

Events like hackathons bring problem solvers and solution experts together to build early partnerships and see who is most capable.

The hackathon acts as a mini version of the full program, letting you gather feedback and help a larger group.

You can more confidently choose the hackathon "winners" for your accelerator because they've already proven they can deliver with limited resources.

Consider using these strategies.

Events like hackathons bring together problem solvers and solution experts to build initial partnerships and identify those most capable of executing innovative ideas.

The hackathon can function as a bite-sized version of the larger program, allowing you to both gather feedback and provide resources to a broader group of participants.

You can select the “winners” of the hackathon more confidently for further investment in your accelerator program because they have demonstrated their ability to follow through with limited resources.

For more on de-risking recruiting and hiring “Effective Recruitment Plans for Top Talent Start with Great Job Descriptions”

3) Focus on One or Two High Potential Areas in Your Social Innovation Accelerator

Risk: Scattered Focus. This makes it hard for the accelerator's leaders and participants to support each other because their experiences don't overlap.

Solution: focus on specific areas where there are clear, unmet needs. These areas should also connect to the unique skills and passions of the leaders and participants. For example, instead of a broad "community development" theme, an accelerator could focus on permanently affordable housing or building cross-sector coalitions for affordable housing.

This focused approach has other benefits.

It allows for a fair comparison between applicants who are true experts on the topic.

It helps develop more relevant and useful ways to measure impact.

It lets teams work on different sides of the same problem, increasing the chance of success through shared knowledge.

Consider using these three strategies.

Assess your accelerator's strengths, including your team's network, expertise, and assets, and identify the biggest unmet needs in specific fields.

Prioritize the areas where your accelerator can make the most difference.

Recruit teams that have deep expertise in the chosen areas and can tackle complementary parts of the problem.

4) Have Participants Find Buyers or Users In Your Social Innovation Accelerator Early

Risk: It’s too easy easy to get excited about a solution that doesn’t actually solve a real problem. When that happens, you can waste months building something no one really needs.

Solution: Validate the problem and solution early, focusing on safely serving key stakeholders and their needs in the core problem areas you’ve identified. Focusing on serving others also reduces the risk that an innovation only helps one organization. When the goal is to serve others, the solutions are more likely to be useful to many, scaling the impact.

Here are three techniques to use this strategy.

Encourage participants to talk to potential users or buyers early in their problem area to understand their core needs and challenges.

Develop a clear value proposition for each project and test it through an iterative, co-creation process.

Get formal agreements or memos of understanding from users or buyers to prove the solution solves a real problem.

For more on early-stage validation, check out:
•
🪴
A Founder's Guide to Validate a Product Idea
•
🪴
The Product Validation Process: From Idea to Evidence

5) Build a Shared Knowledge Base for Your Social Innovation Accelerator

Risk: Participants may benefit from the accelerator without giving back, making knowledge and tools private and limiting each dollar’s impact.

Solution: Asking teams to contribute to a shared “knowledge commons” helps accelerators grow collective resources and broaden impact.

To build this shared knowledge base, consider these tools.

Create a platform to share insights, solutions, technical know how, software, and connections. Consider using open source licenses or public benefit trusts.

Encourage participants to document their work and learnings through knowledge sharing sessions and peer support groups.

Publicly share valuable information from the database while protecting privacy. This creates a safe space for participants and attracts new ones.

FAQs about Social Innovation Accelerators

What is a Social Innovation Accelerator?

A social innovation accelerator is a program designed to help early-stage organizations that have a social or environmental mission. These programs provide resources like mentorship, training, and networking opportunities to help these ventures grow and increase their impact. Unlike traditional business accelerators that focus mainly on profit, a social innovation accelerator prioritizes creating positive change alongside financial sustainability.

How is a Social Innovation Accelerator different from a traditional one?

The main difference is the core mission. While traditional accelerators focus on maximizing financial returns for startups, a social innovation accelerator is dedicated to helping ventures that aim to solve social and environmental problems. They measure success not just by profit, but also by the positive impact created in areas like education, health, and environmental sustainability.

What are the main benefits of joining a Social Innovation Accelerator?

Joining a social innovation accelerator offers several key benefits. Participants get access to expert mentors, specialized training to refine their business and impact models, and valuable networking opportunities with potential investors, partners, and peers. Many programs also provide seed funding and help organizations increase their visibility and credibility.

Who is eligible to apply for a Social Innovation Accelerator?

Eligibility varies between programs, but generally, a social innovation accelerator looks for individuals or teams with a clear social mission and a venture that has moved beyond the initial idea stage. They often look for organizations, both nonprofit and for-profit, that have a prototype or have shown some early traction and are ready to scale their impact. It’s important to check the specific requirements of each accelerator.

What do programs look for in an applicant?

A strong applicant for a social innovation accelerator can clearly define the social problem they are addressing and present an innovative, viable solution. Programs look for dedicated and coachable leaders who have a deep understanding of the community they serve. Having a team with the right skills and a plan for long-term sustainability are also key factors.

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Dan Wu, JD/PhD

How to Design Social Innovation Accelerators That Deliver Real Impact

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